Fixin' Evil
by Letsplayer
Summary: A brave young Engineer (and her dog) attempts to "fix" the evil left in the wake of the Ember-corrupted Alchemist's rampage. [At least that's how I think it will go; I'm making the story up as I progress through the game (Torchlight II.) This isn't written in the normal way therefore, but originated as captions to my screenshot-LP.]
1. Chapter 1 - A Girl And Her Dog

**Chapter 1: A Girl And Her Dog**

It was night when the young woman and her pet papilllon entered the_ Eerie Echo. _Most of the patrons in this small tavern were Vanquishers—soldiers of the Empire, instantly recognisable by their vermillion-coloured, steel-shod tunics. The atmosphere was decidedly sombre. The woman strode down the middle of the room, her high boots clacking on the cobblestone floor. She was followed closely at the heel by her brown-and-white pet.

"Greetings everyone," she said cheerily, "My name is Felixa Fixit. I'm an Imperially-certified Engineer, currently looking for work."

Three loud barks punctuated the end of that sentence.

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce my assistant, Trubble. It's a _he._" She pointed downwards. The dog called Trubble sat down on its haunches, puffing up its small, white chest proudly.

But no-one seemed to pay any attention to this girl in the brown overalls, with her bunched-up black hair, and a formidable-looking Railman Wrench over one shoulder. The Wrench was almost as long as she was high but she appeared to have no trouble hefting it.

"I can fix _anything,_" she added, taking the weight of the Wrench off her back and letting its massive head fall to the floor with an audible THUNK. At the sound, some of them begin at last to stir.

"The Alchemist went rogue. Torchlight...gone. The Estherians are next. Fix _that__!_" snapped a visibly-tipsy Vanquisher by the counter.

The Engineer placed her one free hand on her hip and gazed down at her furry companion. "Well, well, what do you say to that, Trubble?" she asked. The dog stood up on its hind legs and eagerly patted her with its front paws, the way some dogs do when they're excited about something.

Turning back to the Vanquisher, she said, "I think he said _deal__!_"


	2. Chapter 2 - The Quest

**Chapter 2: The Quest**

All the guards at Echo Pass took their orders from a man they called the Destroyer. He was sitting outside the tavern wearing a somewhat sullen expression when they took Felixa to him. As a guard informed him of the new development, she ran an eye over him and saw that he was big, bald, bearded, and...bulging in the right areas.

"So you wanna help," he growled, and though he didn't make it sound like a question, Felixa duly answered, "Yes, sir!"

"Well, the story so far..._IF_ you haven't heard, my erstwhile comrade, the Alchemist, has completely lost his mind. He killed my beloved mentor, Syl, and destroyed the town of Torchlight. That makes me _REALLY_ MAD. I mean, destroying stuff is _MY_ job!"

Felixa waited for him to calm down.

"And after that, he just upped and went off. Towards the Estherian Enclave. I think he means to destroy them too. We just can't let that happen. He's supposed to...to _alchemise_ things, not _destroy_ them. I suppose that's where YOU come in." He jabbed a beefy finger at her.

Felixa blinked.

"I want you to run ahead and warn the Estherians that he's coming. Take the route through Echo Pass. It should lead you directly to the Enclave. The Estherians have powerful magic; maybe they can stop him. But they'll need to prepare themselves. So, _go._ Go, go, GO!" He fanned his huge hands at her in a shooing motion.

"Hold your hammers," said Felixa at last. "If this guy's already on his way there—and from what I gather, he's got a pretty good head start—then how the flaming hammer am I supposed to get there in time to give the warning?"

It was a perfectly reasonable question.

"Yah, I can see how that might be a problem," said the Destroyer, scratching his beard, "...but it's _YOUR_ problem now. My man says you told them you could fix anything. Well, we got us some _Evil_ here that needs a real good _fixin'_." He smashed his right fist into his left palm as he finished speaking.

Felixa looked at Trubble. The dog responded with a few sharp barks. "I guess you're right," agreed Felixa, "We'll hammer that nail when we come to it. _Quest on!_"


	3. Chapter 3 - Inside Echo Pass

**Chapter 3: Inside Echo Pass**

The _ratlins_ in the pass were no match for Felixa's Wrench and Trubble's teeth. The rat-men had sought to intimidate her with their greater numbers; an attempt that—unfortunately for them—failed utterly. A single blow from a two-handed swing of her heavy weapon killed three of them instantly and scattered the rest. Trubble gave chase and finished off the slower ones.

It was inconceivable that anyone could die fighting these weak, cowardly creatures. Yet here amongst the wet grass, where that pack of ratlin had prowled before their demise at Felixa's hands, lay the red-clad bodies of three Vanquisher guards.

"If the ratlin didn't kill these men, who did?" wondered Felixa aloud.

Trubble barked helpfully.

"Of course," said Felixa. "It must be the Alchemist's doing. The ratlins were merely scavenging. I wonder if they've looted the bodies already?"

A quick search of the bodies revealed that they hadn't. Or if they had, they missed the gold. There were about a zillion ways to secrete a coin on the body and sometimes it took an experienced looter to find them all...

Trubble barked impatiently.

"Yeah, all right, coming!" said Felixa, wiping her hands on the tunic of the last dead man. She jingled the coins in her hand and grinned. Not a bad haul; enough, at least, for a couple of rounds of drink. She hoped the Enclave had a tavern or something, and one that served up something better than the _goblin piss_ from _Eerie Echo._

...

Night deepened, as they proceeded further into the pass. Ratlin packs increased in frequency and aggression, emboldened as they were under the cover of darkness and by the presence of new allies: the large, bear-like Warmakers, who attacked with javelins, and their small but ferocious pet Warbeasts.

In effect, it made little difference to Felixa. She dispatched all of them with equal ease (with Trubble's help, of course.) It was like laying down a feast for the vultures. Seeing that she could not be easily overcome, the creatures eventually ceased their attacks and slunk off into the holes from whence they emerged. It was good timing. Felixa's arms had begun to tire after all the constant swinging—the Wrench _was _heavy!

After trudging down the path for some time, under the light of the moon, they finally reached their destination.


End file.
